London's Burning
by 3mm3a
Summary: DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARCTERS OR 'NEW TRICKS'. What do the UCOS team do when their home is destroyed?
1. Chapter 1

"Hello?" Sandra weakly answered, still half asleep.

"Sandra" Strickland replied tensely.

For a split-second, she thought she had overslept but glanced at her alarm clock that illuminated 5:31 in the dark boys wouldn't have called. They barely remembered her birthday, let alone an insignificant day off!

"Yes Sir. It is only 5:30" Sandra justified. But then it occurred to her that he hardly ever rang: something must be wrong. There was a short pause.

"There was a fire last night" He started. This confused Sandra. What did it have to do with her? Unless...

"UCOS is burnt to a crisp." There it was. The words that hit her like a ton of bricks;that she feared would become a reality.

"Oh Christ." Sandra replied with the two words she was able to compose as the trauma span around her head.

It looked like her day had started.

Sandra immediately rang Gerry. She never relied on anyone but at this point in time, she was stuck. Gerry would know what to do. Obviously she over estimated his creative problem solving skills.

"Bleedin' Hell!" Gerry screeched down the phone, his voice as high as a mountain. By this time, she could see that he would be no help whatsoever.

"Right," Sandra tried to take control of the situation, as per usual. "You ring Jack and tell him. I'll ring Brian and tell him to meet at mine at 7."

"Seven!" Gerry exclaimed. Despite being such an emergency, he didn't like the thought of being up in an hours time.

"Yes Gerry. It won't hurt you for one morning to get up a little earlier and considering the circumstances, I don't think that's un reasonable. Do you?!" Sandra ranted down the phone, unaware he had hung up!

By 7 they had all communed at Sandra's. None of them were dressed to their usual standards and they all looked duller than ever before despite everyone, except Brian, trying to lighten the mood. He was a worry. All 3 were silently concerned about how this would affect him. They gathered in the kitchen, accompanied by a cup of tea each with an assortment of biscuits that were chucked onto a plate, isolated in the middle of the table. That's as far as Sandra's food prep goes! It was the first time it had been so quiet that they could hear the clock tick by.

"So," Jack broke the silence that was beginning to fester away at the small quantity of relaxed mood still in the room.

"What are we going to do?" Sandra asked. She did this with care, not quite sure how they would take to the , it had to be approached at some point.

At this moment in time, Brian could go either way. He could remain a useful member of the team or drift away into solitary thoughts for a while.

"I think we should visit what remains." Brian suggested eagerly. The team valued each other's input but Gerry, Jack and Sandra all exchanged worried looks. They had let him slip once before and they weren't prepared to do that again.

"No Brian." Sandra instantly retaliated, bursting with reasons to justify this decision.

"But how can we- How can I come to terms with this, without viewing the remains." Brian answered strongly.

"You make it sound like a body!" Gerry joked and consequently received a stern glance from Sandra.

"No. I'm serious. It's ok for you lot. You all have a healthy and maintainable mental state. Whereas, I'm just..." Brian faded out.

An awkwardness like no other hit the room. How could Sandra say no now?

"OK Brian." She sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

Pulling up to the wreckage, the car park swarmed with pesky reporters as a sea of flashes drowned out the alarming emergency lights! The walls were singed on the outside and were there once hung windows were just empty sockets, like an eye. The doors that once enclosed the humour and confidentiality of the team were tattered and left it vulnerable to the menaces of London.

Tactfully, they managed to gain access to the building when Sandra presented her and her team as investigators of the scene. They wandered down the corridors that were so familiar to them but were now unrecognisable due to the thick darkness that lingered on the walls, hanging like a picture. She took a deep breath before leading her boys around the corner to a horrendous sight.

Behind her echoed a series of gasps, and muttering in disgrace. The weak door frame stood clinging for fear of falling amongst the ashes and the glass that once concealed the affairs of UCOS,shattered within the rubble. The whole room was black and every wall disguised by a layer of smog. Filing cabinets were disfigured after melting at a temperature familiar to the devil and the boys' desks were a piles of debris dotted around the room and ,what was just identifiable as a computer lay in a sludge of plastic on top. It suddenly occurred to Sandra how much equipment had been sacrificed to the flames. Although at the edge of their boundary, Sandra could see through the gap in the bricks into her office. The door was absent, lost to the ferocious heat. Her office was like a dark bottomless pit. Her desk...well, wasn't really a desk anymore and mountains of paper now lay in grey ash scattered around the room. Something told her that the plant that once sat primly on the window sill had to been lost in the flames. She heard a sob, a subtle cry from behind her. Assuming it was Brian, she turned around to confirm her suspicions although proved wrong. He just gazed out to the wreck. She was suddenly aware of the rare action of someone holding her hand as it crept into hers. She followed it up an arm to a small smile that lay on Gerry's face. She could sense his pain and his intentions of preventing Sandra's. Her instant reaction would have been to pull away, with a harsh expression but ,for the first time in a long time, she felt this would have been the wrong thing to do so she just squeezed his ageing hand tightly. After a moment or so, Jack spoke up to break the silence.

"What do we do now?"

Silence remained. Jack noticed Sandra still clutching Gerry's hand and smiled to himself. From day one, he knew there was something special between the two colleagues and it was only a matter of time before they noticed it for themselves.

Reviews welcome and thanks for reading. Not sure whether to carry on or whether that will spoil it. Opinions would be appreciated! Thanks! :) x


End file.
